Several local Latinos said Thursday that while they may not have agreed with all of state Sen. Abel Maldonado’s political decisions, they would like to see him seated as lieutenant governor, and they expressed disappointment about his rejection in the Assembly.
The Latinos interviewed said they support seeing a Hispanic politician in such a prominent role, noting that Cruz Bustamante also formerly held the second-highest-ranking state office.
Latino Outreach Council member Joe Quiroz, a Paso Robles resident and a Democrat, said he supported the Republican Maldonado’s confirmation.
“I haven’t always agreed with his voting record, but he has been willing more recently to move toward the middle,” Quiroz said. “I think a basis for our whole problem in California is political robots in the Legislature. Too many people blindly follow agendas and, to his credit, Abel hasn’t done that.”
Quiroz added that most Hispanics are Democrats in California because of traditional Republican views on immigration and bilingual education, and that Maldonado is uncommon as a Hispanic Republican.